Apparatus for simultaneously pumping and heating a fluid



April 21, 964 H. A. TOULMIN, JR 3,130,287

APPARATUS FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY PUMPING AND HEATING A FLUID Filed July 14, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 JNVENTOR. m ner 1?. ram arm m BY ffg;

April 21, 1964 H. A. TOULMIN, JR

APPARATUS FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY PUMPING AND HEATING A FLUID Filed July 14, 1960 D U U U D 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 19/723) -/7. 7'0VAMl/V J2 April 21, 1964 ou JR 3,130,287

. APPARATUS FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY PUMPING AND HEATING A FLUID Filed July 14, 1960 s Sheets-Slieet a INVENTOR. 19/7/91?! 6! TQUAM/MIA United States Patent M 3,130,287 APPARATUS FOR SEMULTANEOUEELY PUMPING AND HEATING A FLUID Harry A. Touhnin, In, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to lhe Commonwealth Engineering Company of @hio, Dayton, Ohio Filed July 14, 1960, Ser. No. 42,911 1 Claim. (Cl. 219-39) This invention relates to a method and apparatus for sterilizing water and is particularly concerned with the sterilization of water simultaneously with its movement from a well through a pump to a place of storage or point of use.

In my co-pending applications, Serial No. 15,998, filed March 18, 1960, now Patent No. 3,069,735, and Serial No. 45, 127, filed July 25, 1960, now Patent No. 3,069,736, there is shown the sterilization of water within a pump and in a drop pipe leading to a pump, respectively. In

. the present application I show how sterilization could be effected in both the pipe leading to the pump and within the pump with the beneficial effect of a more complete sterilization with there being smaller power requirements for the individual sterilizer units.

The particular object of the present invention is the provision of a method and apparatus for sterilizing water which can readily be incorporated in a conventional domestic or industrial water system utilizing a Well and pump.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a method and apparatus for sterilizing water in which the sterilization of the water is carried out over a distributed path whereby the power requirements at any particular region along the path are reduced over what would be the case if all of the sterilization were accomplished within a limited region.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of a method and apparatus for sterilizing Water which lends itself to incorporation in water systems of new manufacture and which also can be incorporated in existing systems.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reference to the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a more or less diagrammatic view showing a well installation according to my invention with sterilizing units in the drop pipe leading into the Well and also within the pump that pumps the water from the Well through the drop pipe and then delivers it to a storage container;

FIGURE 2 is a View similar to FIGURE 1 which shows the inclusion of a heat exchanger in the system for returning a portion of the heat of the sterilized Water to the colder incoming water;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view through a portion of the pump and a portion of the drop pipe showing the sterilizer units therein;

FIGURE 4 is a more or less diagrammatic perspective View showing one type of heating element that could be used in the sterilizers;

FIGURE 5 is a plan sectional view indicated by line 55 on FIGURE 3 showing the details of construction of the sterilizer unit in the drop pipe;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view indicated by line 6-6 on FIGURE 3 showing how an electric cable can be led into the pump casing for connection to the sterilizer therein;

FIGURE 7 is a cross sectional View indicated by line 77 on FIGURE 3 showing more in detail the construction of the pump casing and the sterilizer elements therein;

3,130,287 Patented Apr. 21, 1964 FIGURE 8 is a View showing at enlarged scale a slip ring and brush arrangement employed in connection with the pump for supplying electric power to a sterilizer element in the pump that rotates with the impeller; and

FIGURE 9 is a sectional view through the heat exchanger unit that is embodied in the installation of FIG- URE 2.

Referring to the drawings somewhat more in detail in FIGURE 1 there is a well casing 10 extending down into the ground so that water can be drawn in through the open lower end 12 thereof. A drop pipe 14 extends downwardly into casing ill and has a screen and foot valve 16 at the lower end. This pipe leads to the inlet of a pump 18 having an electric drive motor 2%. The discharge side of pump 18 is connected with a storage tank 22.

According to this invention there is embodied in drop pipe 14, a sterilizer unit 24 to which electric power is supplied via cable 26.

As will be seen in FIGURE 3 the sterilizer unit 24 comprises a casing 28 having means at its upper end at 30 for connection with the upper portion of drop pipe 14 and having a removable cap or end member 32 at its lower end having means at 34 for connection with the lower portion of drop pipe 14.

End member 32 has integral therewith a spider portion 36 extending axially into casing 28 and about which spider portion there is spirally wound an electric resistance heating element 33. This heating element 38 is connected with the electric cable 2% which supplies electric current thereto.

The resistance heating element may be of the nature illustrated in FIGURE 4 wherein it will be seen to comprise the ribbons 49 of resistance material which are surrounded by the individual insulating sheaths 42 with the entire assembly being enclosed in a metallic sheath 44 which may be, for example, stainless steel or the like. This forms an efiicient arrangement for transforming electrical energy into heat energy for heating the water flowing upwardly through the sterilizer unit.

FIGURE 3 also will disclose that the pump 18 comprises a casing 4-1 through which the water passes from the discharge side of the centrifugal pump unit 43 in moving therefrom to the outlet conduit 45 that leads to the storage tank 22.

Within casing 41 there is stationarily mounted a first spirally formed electric resistance heating element forming a sterilizing element as indicated at 46. Power is supplied to the stationarily mounted sterilizing element 46 via electric cable 48 leading into the top of the pump casing through the sealing bushing St).

A shroud 52 within the pump casing insures that the water pumped by the centrifugal pump unit will pass completely through and over the sterilizer unit 46 before reaching the inlet to the pipe 44.

The pump illustrated is a jet pump in combination with the centrifugal pump wherein there is an ejector 54 that comprises a venturi portion 56 connected with the impeller of centrifugal pump 18. Mounted on the venturi portion 56 is a spider 58 and wound about the spider 58 is a second spiral resistance heating element 60 forming a second sterilizer unit within the pump casing. This second sterilizer unit rotates and serves to agitate and admix the water passing through the pump casing thereby to insure more complete sterilization thereof.

Power is supplied to the rotary sterilizing element by means of the cable 64 which extends through the hub of the pump impeller and into the center of the shaft connected therewith and terminates in connection to the individual rings of a collector ring unit 66 mounted about the said shaft. Brush means 68 engage the slip ring and are conencted with the electric cable 70 so that power 3: can thus be supplied to the rotary sterilizer unit within the pump.

The energization of the sterilizer units may be accomplished by an electric circuit of the nature illustrated in FIGURE 1 wherein power lines L1 and L2 are connected in circuit with the electric drive motor 2% of the pump by way of an electric switch 89 which is connected by pilot line 82 with the pressure side of the pump so as to be responsive to the pressure in the container When switch 80 closes, a timer T is energized which first closes a timer blade Tll that is in circuit with the several previously mentioned electric cables and thus in circuit with the several sterilizer elements. Closing of switch T1 will cause the sterilizer elements to raise to sterilizing temperature and a predetermined time after switch blade T1 closes switch blade T2 will close and this will energize the motor to commence the pumping of water. In this manner, by delaying the energizing of the pump motor, it is insured that the sterilizing units will be up to temperature before water commences to flow through the system.

In order to control the Water temperature leaving the sterilizers, the sterilizer in the drop pipe may have connected in circuit with the electric resistance heating element a thermostat 84 which will open at a predetermined water temperature thus to tie-energize the heating element and will close at a predetermined lower temperature to again effect energization of the heating element.

Similarly, adjacent the inlet to conduit 44, there may be another thermostat element 86 connected in circuit with the sterilizer elements in the pump casing for the same purpose that is mentioned in connection with thermostat 84.

The described arrangement is such that the water can be elevated to a relatively high temperature by the sterilizer in the drop pipe so that when the water gets to the.

pump it will not require a great deal of energy to elevate the water completely to sterilization temperature. in this manner it is insured that the water will not channel through the pump casing and thus have a cold unsterilized strata but instead, the water is raised substantially to sterilization temperature within the drop pipe and this body of water becomes fully admixed in flowing to and through the pump and into the pump casing and thus t e entire body of water can then be brought to sterilization temperature within the pump casing.

In general, the water on the discharge side of the pump will be from 20 pounds per square inch upwardly in pressure and this will permit sterilization temperatures to be attained in the pump casing substantially in excess of 211. Within the drop pipe however the pressure on the liquid is substantially lower than the pressure referred to above and accordingly the sterilizer unit in the drop pipe will operate at a substantially lower temperature.

In order to effect the recovery of some of the heat of sterilization in the water before it is delivered to the storage tank, an arrangement according to the FIGURE 2 may be utilized wherein the water discharged by the pump is conveyed through a conduit 100 to a heat exchanger 102 and thence by conduit 104 to a storage tank 106.

The incoming water from drop pipe 10?; passes through heat exchanger 102 by a passage independent of the one connecting conduits 102 and 104.

The construction of the heat exchanger is illustrated in FIGURE 9 wherein the said heat exchanger 102 will be seen to comprise an outer casing part 119. A thin tube 112 extending through the center of the heat exchanger interconnects the reaches of the drop pipe whereas the passage around the thin tube forms the connecting means for the conduits Th0 and 104.

It will be understood that this invention is susceptible to modification in order to adapt it to different usages and conditions; and, accordingly, it is desired to comprehend such modifications within this invention as may fall within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

In combination; a pump having an inlet port and an outlet port, a drop pipe leading from the said inlet port into a Well, a discharge line leading from the outlet port or" the pump to a place of storage, a heat exchanger in the drop pipe adjacent the said inlet port, said heat exchanger passing therethrough in counter flow the water flowing to the said inlet port of the pump and the Water flowing from said outlet port to a place of storage, electrical resistance heating means in the drop pipe be tween the said heat exchanger and the well for raising the temperature of the Water passing therethrough, thermostatic means in said drop pipe to control the temperature of the water leaving therefrom, said pump further comprising, a rotary impeller, rotatable electrical resistance heating means mounted on said rotary impeller, stationary electrical resistance heating means, said rotary and stationary electrical resistance means being energizable for further elevating the temperature of the water passing therethrough above the temperature imparted to the water in the said drop pipe and thermostatic means to control the temperature of the water leaving said pump, an electric motor to drive said pump, an electric circuit including a timer and interconnecting said electric motor and all said electrical resistance heating means operable to bring about energization of said motor a predeterm ned time after the said electrical resistance heating means are energized.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 564,657 Stiebel July 28, 1896 1,457,634 Neri June 5, 1923 1,493,773 Dorion May 13, 1924 1,871,688 Heller Aug. 16, 1932 1,985,830 Hynes Dec. 25, 1934 2,091,838 Staak Aug. 31, 1937 2,122,741 Haddad July 5, 1938 2,132,708 Smith Oct. 11, 1938 2,419,159 Pezzillo Apr. 15, 1947 2,578,673 Cushman Dec. 18, 1951 2,756,470 Sawchuck July 31, 1956 2,802,520 Trabilcy Aug. 13, 1957 3,069,735 Toulmin Dec. 25, 1962 

